Forgive Me, Take Me Back
by Country Timelord
Summary: Alec Hardy has come out of surgery to find that his daughter has run away to live with him instead of her mother. While trying to recovery from surgery and proving that he's healthy enough to go back to work was Detective Inspector, he must also figure out how keep his daughter with him, now that she knows the truth.
1. Chapter 1

It hadn't been an easy decision, getting the surgery. After all, his doctors had only given him a fifty-fifty chance of making out of the operating room alive after they dug into his chest and stuck in probes, wires, and whatever witchcraft of medicine they used these days. Alec Hardy wasn't a gambling man. He didn't take chances. He weighed out everything, and if there wasn't a near one-hundred percent probability that he was correct; he didn't jump.

There was a one-hundred percent probability that he would die sooner rather than later without the surgery.

He realized that while he was lying on the ground, while Ellie begged him not to die. Lots of things crossed his mind before he finally and mercifully passed out. His daughter being one of the prominent figures. He traced her face in his mind's eye. She looked just like him which was what everyone told him. Her big brown eyes and messy brown hair. She was his alright, not that she would admit to it.

He tried calling her before the surgery, but he couldn't. Worrying her was never an option, even if it was his last chance to say goodbye if the worst happened. He didn't like goodbyes. He didn't tell Lexi goodbye when he and his wife separated followed by a swift divorce. He hugged her awkwardly, as she stood stiffly, and he told her that he would see her soon and that he wished he didn't have to leave her but that it was for the best.

Passing along his mother's words to her, he picked up his single suitcase and walked out the door, not daring to look back. He knew what he would have seen anyway, his now-ex-wife putting an arm around his daughter's shoulder and drawing her away from the doors, as if he was diseased.

It was probably her fault that Lexi wasn't calling him back. She wouldn't have let her talk to him even if she wanted to.

God he missed her.

He solved the murder. He'd done all the right things. He convinced Ellie to stay in Broadchurch. He cleared her entirely of any suspicions. He'd tried being a fatherly figure to Tom and Fred, even if Fred was the only one who truly trusted him at the moment. He helped the community rebuild.

Why couldn't one thing go his way for once?

This was his last shot at putting things right, he thought to himself as a nurse approached him with an oxygen mask, and instructed him to count backwards from ten. Listening wasn't his strong suit, so instead he thought of Lexi. When she was younger she was a complete daddy's girl. He embraced it too. Picking her up and toting her around, accepting her sloppy wet kisses, or her overly enthusiastic hugs before bed time.

He remembered when an overzealous criminal's brother got a bit to set on seeking revenge on him and broke into his house at night. He had cleared it up rapidly, and had him in cuffs within a few minutes, but Lexi had nightmares, and she refused to sleep if he wasn't there by her side. So he curled up every night on her too small bed and told her stories until he fell asleep. He didn't sleep with his wife in their bed for six months until he was confident that Lexi was fine and not suffering from anymore nightmares. He supposed that was when his marriage started falling apart. He had been so good at balancing his love for with wife with his love for Lexi, until that night, when his wife was working late and the man broke in and threatened them both. He remembered shoving her into her room roughly and yelling at her to lock the door, and the breath of false security that left him when she did as she was told.

It wasn't all bad, naturally. He'd had fun days with her too, days that would live with him like they were made from all the happiness in the world that had fallen down onto him. Her third birthday, when he and his wife took her down to the park and she insisted that he accompany her on every piece of playground equipment was one of his favorites. He'd even let her go on the teeter-totter, a device he'd had extreme misgivings about.

He had tea parties for crying out loud, with imaginary tea, and stuffies, and biscuits. No one here would have believed him, but it was true. The edges of his thoughts were becoming hazy now, and as he listened to his own voice in an exaggerated squeak request more tea while he jigged a plush bear and grinned.

Slowly drifted into oblivion.

~/~

Ellie had insisted on being there when he got out of surgery and taking him to her house, despite him having bought his own house in Broadchurch not too far away from her. So, when he heard her voice as he came out of his daze it didn't surprise him, but the voice she was conversing with did. The feeling of dread that he had been holding back washed over him and his heart sped up. He hoped that because it didn't seem to flutter like it had been was a good sign, but to be honest he wasn't sure if he would have noticed any way.

He opened his eyes and groaned, raising his hands to his face to clear his vision. He settled for a moment on Ellie, but then he locked on his own dark, brown eyes and his breath hitched. His wife couldn't have brought her here, could she? Did she want something? What more did he have?

"Dad," Lexi breathed and rushed over to him, hugging him loosely around his neck, as though she was afraid she would break him. He responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the side of her head lovingly, as she cried into his neck. "I'm so sorry. I believed her. I'm sorry. She didn't tell me. My friend emailed me the article, and I didn't think it was true, but Mom she… she…"

"Hush, Darling," he cooed, the pain in his chest and the sight of a nurse appearing in the corner of the otherwise empty ward only registered in the back of his mind, as he held her. "It's fine. I don't blame you. I never could."

Ellie stared at him with mild disbelief, and Alec shrugged it off. Of course he was being soft. This was his daughter, his flesh and blood. He held onto her for a few moments before pushing her off of him slightly after the nurse cleared her throat. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I take it your mother doesn't know you're here?"

She shook her head.

"We'll talk about how wrong that is later," he said, with a half-grin and kissed her forehead fondly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to truly berate her for it. He would have done the same, and after all for the majority of her life, Lexi had taken after him. "Better now?"

"Yeah," she said, glancing over her shoulder at the nurse. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Darling," he replied and she stepped back slightly. Ellie laid a hand on her shoulder and Lexi turned slightly towards her, to catch her face. Alec watched as the DS smiled in approval before the nurse blocked his view of them.

"Can I go home now?" he asked in frustration, folding his arms over his chest, but the nurse pulled them away and listened to his breathing and measured his heart rate.

"Let the doctor check you out and we'll see about it," she said sternly, giving him a hard glare with her piercing green eyes. "You aren't leaving like you did before."

Right, it was that nurse. He hated the small town life more than anything for that very reason, no privacy and everyone knew everything.

"When will he be here?"

"In a few minutes," she replied, glancing at the girls in the room and rolled her eyes. "Is he always this stubborn?"

"Yes," Ellie replied. "He is. We're trying to train him."

Alec glared at her, and watched the nurse leave. He reached his hand down to his chest and touched his bandages. There was no question that there was going to be a large scar underneath there, for some reason everything about this surgery was treated as needing something bigger and more urgent than in the flyers that rested on the doctor's desk and walls or in the pamphlets that were sent home with him. Poking his finger into the mass of bandages, he winced as pain spread from just under his clavicle. Reaching down to inspect it further, Ellie swatted his hands away and fixed him with an equally powerful glare to the one he had just given her.

"Leave it alone," she instructed.

"It hurts," Alec quipped, and Ellie smirked, trying to the hide the slightly fond glimmer that rested in corner of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Lexi shifted awkwardly advancing forwards a step but then losing her nerve and shuffling backwards again.

Alec peeked over Ellie's shoulder and smiled gently at his daughter, and held out his hand to her to beckon her to him once again.

"Mum didn't know you kept that money in the shoebox underneath your bed," she said sheepishly. "And, you left without taking it, so I took it. Just a bit." She said hurriedly, as she moved the backpack she was carrying to her front and began to extract a large shoe box. Inside the bag, Alec saw some clothes that Lexi had carefully rolled to fit into her small school bag. He placed a hand over her and made her stop removing things.

"We'll deal with that later, Darling, alright?" he asked, fingering her long brown hair and smiling. "I'm glad you're safe, and that's all that matters right now."

"And, getting you better," she replied, shifting uncomfortably. "I didn't know you were in here. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be with you. I didn't want to be a burden."

"You'll never be a burden," he said smiling and laughing slightly. "I'm breaking my promise not to be soppy aren't I? Sorry."

"Not your fault," she countered, hugging him again while she pressed her face into his shirt. Tears soaked through the thin fabric of the hospital gown they had draped over him. Sniffing, she burrowed in deeper, and caused the pain in his chest to branch out farther. He bit it down and tried now to let her notice, as he rubbed her back. "You always were soppy, weren't you?"

"That's me," he said, and he couldn't help but catch Ellie's raised eyebrow. "You do need to call your mother though, alright? Let her know you're okay before she has the entire Glasgow Police Department after me."

Seeing the fear in her eyes, he sat up straighter in the bed and took her hand in his. "I'm not sending you back. Not, if you don't want to go, but she's still your mother, and you owe her an explanation."

"Can I wait a bit?" she asked, twisting away from him slightly and looking at the floor. "She won't miss me anyway."

"Now, Lexi," he said sternly. "She loves you. No matter what went on between the two of us, she loves _you_."

"Okay," she whispered, and for a moment, Alec considered letting her get off without calling her mother. He could deal with his ex-wife. He'd dealt with murders, drug dealers, and gang members. Plus, she certainly would answer her phone with Lexi missing. "I'll just go outside." She turned to Ellie, and looked at her hopefully.

"There's a payphone just across the street," she said helpfully, and the girl thanked her quietly nodding.

"Don't you have your phone?"

"It died halfway from home," she replied, turning to her father and giving him an apologetic half-smile before walking away.

"Now, I've really got to get out of here," Alec groaned pushing the thing hospital blanket off of himself and swinging his legs over the edge. Ellie moved to place her hands on his shoulders and tried to push him back, but just as she was about to she was interrupted by a booming voice.

"Mr. Hardy, you've just had endocardial implant. I suggest you stay right there, so I can at least make sure everything is functioning correctly. You're so eager to get back to your job, but I know that Broadchurch PD graciously switched you over to medical leave with full pay so you could get back to work as soon as you were up to snuff. However, I am the one who has to sign those papers, so do me a favor and lie back down so I can look at you."

Alec fixed the man with a hard scowl but said nothing. This wasn't a work thing. Ellie might have accused him of being married to his work, and that was true, but the relationship he had with his daughter was stronger than one had with a spouse. His marriage had pretty well proven that.

"What's your daughter's name?" the doctor asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I saw the way you looked at her, and you seem like you care an awful lot about her, right?"

"Of course," Alec griped before pulling out an exasperated sigh. "Her name's Lexi, and don't ask anything else; because it's complicated and—"

"Everything is complicated with you, isn't it, Detective Inspector?" he asked. "Look, that little girl out there loves you, and you love her, and if you want to be there for her in the future you're going to need to listen to me right now."

Alec's breath caught in his throat and he nodded, settling back down into the hospital bed. Lexi growing up was something he would rather not think about. She was going to have a great future of course, she was brilliant, made top marks in school, played football and ran track, she was a socialite, and she was an all-around good kid. However, she was just that to him, a kid, but she wasn't to anyone else. She was going on becoming a woman, he supposed, and he would have to accept it. He'd be there to walk her down the aisle, and threaten the man who wished to meet her at the end of the aisle if he didn't treat her with the respect she deserved. He'd be there to be a Granddad, and like her they would be spoiled little darlings as well.

"Alright," he mumbled.

"Good," the doctor said, pulling out a stethoscope and brandishing it at Alec. He placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned him forwards and reached through the gap in the gown to listen to his breathing. Alec closed his eyes for a moment, while he let the doctor go about his tests, as he moved into test the electrical connections and how his heart responded to him. He did his best not to sound irritated when the doctor asked the same questions over and over again about how the different currents affected his heart and if it put him in additional pain.

"I'm fine," Alec said when the doctor beckoned a nurse to come in and change the dressing on his wound since he had removed his bandages to check for an early sign or infection, or to see if any of the stiches had broken while he was moving around.

"Alright," the doctor said, watching as the nurse placed the gauze against his chest and taped it down. "I recommend you stay overnight, but I can tell by the look on your face you're not going to?"

"No," Alec responded, already getting to his feet and grabbing his clothes. "I won't."

"Then take this," the doctor replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a sheet of paper. "That's instructions for how to care for your wound, keep it dry avoid stretching, no heavy lifting, no driving for at least a week, and so on and so on. I expect you back here in the next two weeks and try to get some rest."

"Doctor, I don't think that's such a good idea," the nurse protested, looking up from where she was taking notes on the chart for the doctor.

"In any other patient I would agree with you," the doctor replied and looked at him, and held out a hand as Alec started remove the IV line and started to do it himself. "But, Mr. Hardy here is different. He's stubborn, and he's not going to get the rest he needs if he's here." He pressed a cotton ball into Alec's arm and reached for the tape the nurse had prepared once she saw what he was doing. Taping down the soft material he stepped back and fixed him with a hard stare. "Call me if there is any trouble, alright. Don't wait. Don't try to tough it out, come straight in."

Alec nodded, though he was only half listening. Ellie groaned in frustration at him, but he ignored her as well, and he began to pull up his trousers before reaching behind him to untie the gown. It stretched his stitches and made the muscles in his chest ache, but he dared not show it on his face as he let the gown drop onto the bed and reached for his shirt and began to button it methodically. He reached down for his tie and began to knot it loosely around his neck, while Ellie watched in silent astonishment, but kept her lips stubbornly shut.

"Thanks for everything, Doc," he said, with a wave of his hand as he collected his jacket and started out of the room, being tailed by a frustrated Ellie.

"Alec, you can't possibly think this is a good idea," she protested.

"I do," he said.

"You've just got your daughter back, though. You heard what the doctor said you need to be there for her."

"Exactly," he said, turning around, eyes burning. "I need to be there for her, and at the moment, it looks like it could mean a messy custody suit, and if I'm laid up and can't care for her… She gets Lexi. I need to show that she ran away to capable arms."

"If Lexi wants to go with you, and doesn't feel comfortable around her mother—"

"You know it's not that simple," he said. "Mothers tend to get custody, and she'll fight long and hard for it even if it is just to get back at me. I didn't fight for her last time; because, I thought it would be better for her, and I was wrong, but that may have cost me getting her this time."

Alec drew in a deep breath. "It's not as open and shut as your case, Ellie," he said, trying to sound gentle, considering how much it still hurt her to talk about Joe. "If I lose her again—"

"Okay. Okay, I understand," Ellie said. "Do you need anything? The offer for you to stay over at my place is still open. I'm sure I can find a place for Lexi too."

Shaking his head, Alec said, "No, I think it would be better if I brought her back to my place. I'll fix up the spare bedroom and she can sleep there."

"You need someone to look after you," Ellie said.

"Lexi is responsible. If she sees me lying in a heap of pain she'll call 999, if you hear sirens you'll know to come over to my place," he gave a half smile. "I'll be fine."

They walked outside of the hospital and noticed Lexi walking towards them. Her eyes were red and swollen while she drew her arms tightly around herself, as if guarding herself from the outside world.

"She didn't take it well, then?" Alec joked, opening his arm to her and letting her seek comfort. She shook her head and pushed her face into his left shoulder, and he couldn't hide the intake in breath and wince causing her to draw back.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," she said hurriedly.

"It's fine," Alec said breathily before recovering his posture. "Just tender. They say it'll be sore for a bit and there's some bruising, but you aren't going to dislodge a wire or anything just from hugging me."

Lexi didn't look convinced, so Alec looped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll straighten everything out. Ellie is going to drop us off at my house and we'll have a nice heart to pacemaker."

Giggling, Lexi went to hug him again, carefully avoiding that side of his chest. There was a new light in Alec's eye when he was around his daughter, that Ellie hadn't had the privilege of seeing yet. He opened the door to Ellie's car and slid in next to her, and out of habit glanced in the rearview mirror to see that his daughter was buckling herself in.

"Thanks for this," he said, looking over to the DS.

"I still think it's an awful idea," she said blatantly.

"But you understand."

"Yeah, I do."

~/~

Alec unlocked the door to his home. It wasn't much, especially compared to his old house, but it had become a home for him. It was drafty in the spare bedroom, so he actually planned on taking it tonight, while giving Lexi his room. The bed was bigger and more comfortable in there anyway.

He was beginning to feel exhaustion set in, and he wanted to do nothing more than curl up and fall asleep, but he had his daughter to think about at the moment and couldn't focus on his needs right now. Was it strange that he really had missed that feeling? The feeling that he wasn't the first thing that crossed his mind anymore?

Guiding her into the kitchen, he sat her down at the round wooden table,

"You still like hot chocolate?" he asked. "I was at the store and bought some without thinking. Can't drink it, you know, but I was just thinking about how we used to sit and drink it and watch movies and whatever."

She nodded. "Yeah, haven't had any in a while though,"

"That's a crime," he said, going into cupboard and pulling out instant coco mix, it wasn't the best, but it would do. He filled two cups with milk and placed them side by side in the microwave and began to nuke them. Father and daughter occupied the kitchen in silence for a few moments while Alec readied her cup of hot chocolate, leaving his cup containing only warm milk.

"Thanks," she said, cupping it in her hands and taking a sip of the warmth.

"No problem," he said, pulling up a chair and smiling gently at her. "Now, tell me what made you leave, other than the article, because I know you, and you would have called me to tell me you were leaving. Whatever happened made you nervous or uncomfortable enough that you ran away."

She shifted uncomfortably for a moment, and Alec got to thinking about interrogating witnesses for crimes, and thought that maybe she was trying to formulate a lie. Lexi, however, would never do such a thing to him, so when her eyes finally met his, he knew without a doubt, that what she was about to tell him was the complete truth.

"The night after you left, I caught Mum with one of the DS's from the station," she said, slowly, and the look of heart break in his little girl's eyes nearly drove Alec to tears, but he hid his emotions by swigging his milk.

"I assumed she must just be heartbroken from you cheating on her, and left it at that. She said it wouldn't happen again and I believed her, but then that article came out, and Mum started talking like things were getting serious between her and John, and then John started acting like he was going to be my new Dad, and asked me to call him that. That was two days before my friend showed me the article a few months after it had been published. I feel like Mum must have been trying to hide it from me, but I trusted her judgment. After all, it was you that told me never believe the tabloids.

"Things went on fine for another few months, but Mum seemed more distant, and she was spending late nights out. I never saw her. Then John came over and moved in and he acted like he was in charge of me, and in a way I suppose he had that right, but it wasn't a right, and I didn't— He— Whenever he was around Mum, it was like they were both hiding something from me. The article kept surfacing in my mind, and when she announced she and John, I ran."

Alec bit down on his lip and shook his head. "How did you get here?"

"Took the tube outside of Glasgow, then the bus here."

"Nothing happened, no one hurt you or—"

"No, I would have told you if something did," she assured him. "I just really needed to get away and there was no way that Mum was going to take me to see you."

"Okay," he said, placing his hand on her forearm. "Just promise me, you'll never ever do that again. Not under any circumstances, alright?"

"I promise," she said, looking up at him. "You're not mad at me?"

"Furious," he admitted. "I can't believe you would pull such a stunt. Lexi, you realize you could have gotten yourself killed."

"I know," she said. "I know you're mad about that, and like I said, I won't do it again. I swear. But, you're not mad that I didn't call back all those times, or that I didn't give you a proper goodbye, or anything. Are you?"

He shook his head. "No."

How could he be? It was his fault. He had lied to her instead of telling her the truth and now that decision was coming back to bite. Getting kicked while he was down was becoming his personal specialty.

"Good," she replied, visibly relieved. He wished he could have made the same claim.

"Do you have clothes to sleep in?" he asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. "If not, there's still time to run to the shops and buy a few things."

"I've got enough for tonight," she answered, and for a moment she seemed to study him. "You look awful, Dad."

"I'm fine."

"You're not. You should rest," she said.

"I will," he promised. "I'll just set up the spare bedroom and go to sleep in an hour or so, simple. Why don't you go ahead into my room, down the hall and straight ahead and put on some more comfortable clothes and get your things settled?"

"Don't you want your room?"

"Nah, I'll be fine," he assured her. "Now go on, you."

"Okay," she said, taking her backpack from the ground and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Come into the spare room when you're done," he instructed. "If you still need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

Alec closed his eyes and dozed for a few moments after placing sheets on the bed and got two pillows out of the linen closet. He could hear Lexi rummaging around in his room, and smiled to himself while he allowed his mind to wander. The sound of someone else living with him was something that he had missed most of all. No matter how much he lacked in actual social skills the feeling of being alone was something that he always dreaded. Independence was something he was born knowing with how his dad was with his mum, but that didn't make the coping any easier. His mum was there for him some of the time, and he relished in those times more than anything, but she was often too busy arguing with Dad to find time for him.

Had he done that with Lexi?

Focused too much on what his ex-wife had wanted and not even taken into consideration what Lexi wanted? If he had told her the truth she would have stayed. Her presence here now was proof of that.

Still there was something deep down that still made him not want Lexi to know. Perhaps it was his attachment to his mother, looking to her for guidance and only seeing his Dad as a hindrance to the family peace. Surely, a child needed a mother more than they needed a father.

Unless their mother was a lying, cheating—

He stopped himself short. He wouldn't allow Lexi to view her mother in that light, and he wasn't going to be a hypocrite by calling her one. A small piece of his heart still went on stubbornly loving a woman who didn't love him back. No matter how much his brain told it to stop it kept on going, kept on hoping, and kept on praying that somehow things might work out.

Lexi loved him again though, and that was helping to fill the void. She was offering more love now than she had in years when adolescent angst and drama took over her life. Leaving her with her mother was no longer an option, now that she knew. Lexi was stubborn, no matter what she was going to come running back to him. The thoughts circled his mind, as he started to drift off his body finally succumbing to much needed sleep.

~/~

He managed a good five minutes of sleep before the phone started ringing and he jolted him out of bed, down the hall and into the kitchen, where he managed to catch it on the last ring. The plastic earpiece felt cold against his skin and the static sound of another person breathing on the other end filled his ear.

"Ellie, I've had heart surgery, and I need rest," he whined. "You calling in the middle of my nap isn't helping me."

"I don't bloody well care about what's helping you," the voice on the other end of the line screeched, and Alec felt a headache coming on as his stomach dropped slightly.

"Sarah," he muttered, and looked down the hall to his room to see Lexi coming out of his room in fluffy pajama pants with rainbow polka dots and a bright red tank top. He waved at her to motion her back into his room, so he could deal with her mother with the freedom to swear, but she approached anyway, and looked at him fearfully.

"Don't 'Sarah,' me," she practically growled. "You gave up custody remember? You signed the paperwork and left."

Alec didn't bother telling her that he hadn't had much choice in the matter, and that she had threatened to place a restraining order between him and Lexi if he protested. "She came to me."

"You obviously had to make her," she accused, and he could hear her starting to count silently to herself, backwards from ten like she always did when she was angry. He had to admit when he first married her, it was sort of a turn on, the way her nose scrunched up, and her curt little mouth turned down in a frown. Now, however, he couldn't see her, and her frustration at him only served to make him angrier.

"I didn't. She came to me. I didn't ask her to," he sighed and looked over at Lexi, who was seated at the kitchen table, her knees drawn up to her chest and head lowered so he couldn't see her face for the shroud of hair that fell around her. "If you want to come over; we can talk like adults, get this straightened out, alright? I want what's best for her."

"I'm already here," she said. "Where's your place."

"Chapel Crossing Road," he said, running a hand through his hair, and down his neck. "It's the house with grey siding and a black roof."

Sarah didn't reply to him, just hung up, and Alec placed the phone back on the hook, sitting down at the table and sighing in a pained way. "I know you're going to hate me for that."

"It was going to happen eventually," his daughter replied, looking up at him and offering a wan smile.

"Look at my girl," he said sadly, taking his hand and tipping her chin up slightly, so he could get a better view of her face. A few stray tears trickled out of the corner of her eyes and landed on his hand, while he forced himself to smile. "All mature now that I haven't seen her in so long. I must have been holding you back all this time."

Lexi didn't answer just gave a half smile and turned away, trying to remove any evidence of the tears he had already touched. "Is she very close?"

"Here in Broadchurch, yeah," he said. "Should be here soon."

"Does she have to come?" Lexi asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking up at Alec.

"Afraid so," Alec replied, and he swallowed thickly before he spoke again. "Lexi you have to promise me something, alright?"

"What?"

Afraid to speak for a moment, he took Lexi's hands in his two and gave them a squeeze. She didn't pull back, only stared at him, while he took all of her in. She had changed minutely since he last saw here. There were a few more freckles across the bridge of her nose from the summer sun, and her braces had finally come off. She used to cry about those endlessly, like they were going to ruin her social life, and every time she got them tightened he was on the receiving end of a glare, and he'd get the silent treatment until her mouth decided to stop hurting.

"It's just that she might want to take you back home, and if she does—" He swallowed again, harder, trying to deny to himself what he was about to say. "You'll have to go with her."

She shook her head fervently, "Please don't, Dad," she pleaded. "I don't want to go back there. Mum and John, I don't feel comfortable around them. I want to stay with you."

Alec smiled softly and drew her into a much needed hug. "We don't even know if she'll want that, yet."

He knew that he was lying, taking advantage of the fact that Lexi hadn't heard what Sarah had said on the other end of the phone, nor the conviction in her voice. She wasn't giving up their daughter, and Alec wasn't planning on it now either, but she had all the legal claims and paperwork. He had nothing, except, for the moment, Lexi's trust.

The court's would-be words rang through his head. They'd blame everything on Lexi being a teenager, running away every time something got hard. They'd say that there was nothing to stop Lexi from running back to her mother when she got irritated at him.

"Why don't you get some sleep, alright?" he asked.

When Lexi didn't reply, he pulled back from their hug and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Please? It's getting late."

She nodded, and he kept his hand on her shoulder as they walked down the hall and into his room. He sat on the edge of the bed, as she climbed in and pulled the covers over her before she had a chance to. "I know you're fifteen nearly sixteen," he said, as he kissed her forehead. "But, let me baby you a bit."

"Let me stay the night at least," she requested, turning to look up at him. He should have known she wouldn't have given up that easily. "I haven't seen you in so long."

"I'll ask her," he promised, and reached for the lamp on the bedside table and turned it off. "I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

No one would ever know how much he missed hearing those words nightly, or when he woke up in the morning, or when he drove her to school, or just whenever she felt like blessing him. He watched in the darkness as she turned over on her side, and pulled the covers more tightly around her.

It would be best to let her mother take her back, so he wouldn't seem too aggressive in court, or like he was trying to force her to do something she didn't really want to do, but he didn't know if he could.

Going into the spare bedroom, he lay down on top of the covers and closed his eyes; once again his hand went to the bandages that were taped along his clavicle. Slowly and carefully, he began to peel back the bandage and ran his finger gently over the suture line and then to the slight budge under his skin where the pace maker now sat.

"God, please don't take her away just yet," he whispered, before pushing the bandage back down and falling asleep.

~/~

He was jolted awake by someone shaking his shoulder, and it took him a moment before his eyes settled on Lexi, and he remembered everything. He ran his hand over his eyes to clear his vision and raised an eyebrow at Lexi.

"Mum's here," she whispered urgently, as if her silence might make her mother leave.

"Alright," he said slowly, getting to his feet and taking a slow drink of water from the glass he kept by his bedside from when he still needed the pills to keep his heart from petering out. "Do you want to be there, or do you want me to talk to her first?"

Lexi squared her shoulders and planted her feet down firmly. "I want to be with you."

"Okay," he said, resting his hand on her forearm and walking to the front door with her. He peered through the peephole and saw Sarah standing there with her arms crossed in frustration, and he knew that she was about to release a tirade on him. Drawing a deep breath, he opened the door and allowed her to come in.

Immediately, her blonde hair whipped around as she turned from facing him with a glare to Lexi. "You, young lady, are in so much trouble," she berated. "Do you have any idea how childish and immature that was? You could have gotten yourself killed. Running to your father, like he'll solve all your problems."

"Dad already lectured me on it," she rebutted angrily, and moved to stand closer to Alec, who gently pulled her away from her mother, fearing somewhere deep down what they might do to each other.

"He has, has he?" she said, looking up at Alec, and he gave her a stiff nod.

"Yeah, I have," he replied. He mentally filed away a note to himself to ask Lexi what other problems she was having since he was forced to leave her. Surely, Sarah wouldn't have considered her engagement a problem for Lexi. "She promises never to do it again."

"And, you take her word for it?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"She's never lied to me before," Alec asserted.

"She just snuck here all the way from Glasgow," she shouted, "How is that not lying? She was supposed to be in school."

"School's last day was yesterday," Lexi mumbled, so that only Alec could hear her. "If you paid any attention to anything you would know that."

"What?" Sarah inquired.

"Nothing," Lexi muttered.

Sarah looked like she was about to push the subject harder, so Alec hunched over a bit and looked Lexi in the eyes. "How about you go back to bed, Darling, so your mother and I can talk about this?"

"You won't make me go back will you?"

"Not yet, no."

He drew her in for a hug and watched as she went into his room and closed the door behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned back to Sarah and tried to ignore her fuming eyes. "Look, why don't we sit down, and talk this out like rational adults?"

"I can," she protested, though started following him into his living room anyway, and collapsed into his armchair. He sat on the couch and looked at her for a few moments. She was still beautiful, he thought to himself, and that hurt. Because in his heart, she was ugly, uncaring and inhumane, but she didn't change to anyone else. She still had the long blonde hair and bright green eyes that he fell in love with when he was shy university graduate.

He looked down at her hands; they were balled up at fists at her side, while she glared at him. The first time they ever fought as a couple, he couldn't help himself, but laugh at how ridiculous she looked.

"Sarah, she came to me," he said slowly. "I swear I didn't ask her to. If I did, I wouldn't have asked her on a day I was going to be having surgery."

"You've been calling her non-stop for months, how am I supposed to believe that?"

Anger bubbled up inside Alec and he clenched his fists. "Because, I've always been honest with you; it's you who lies. I've never told a lie to someone in my family before until you made me."

"We're not family."

"You're the mother of my daughter, and for now that makes us family," he growled. He hated the way those words tasted in his mouth, while he glared at her. "I plan to keep treating you that way, until something happens to tell me otherwise."

"She's coming back home with me," Sarah told him, ignoring what he had to say, and getting up from the chair and making to walk towards his room, but he caught her arm. "Let go of me."

He loosened his grip slightly, but didn't capitulate as he said, "She wants to stay."

"She's just upset," she seethed.

"Mother of—," Alec cried, releasing her arm and pacing a wide circle around the room. "She didn't lock herself in her room and start crying. She ran across the country on a tube and a bus to get here. The Lexi I know doesn't do that, so whatever happened really broke her up inside, and I'm not letting her go back to it until I have all the facts. She told me she didn't like John, and that she doesn't feel comfortable around him, so I'm asking you flat out: has he ever done or said anything to hurt her?"

"No."

"If you're lying to me—"

"I'm not," her words were biting. "She's coming home with me this instant."

"She my daughter too, you know?"

"Not anymore," she bit out. "You gave her up."

"Only because I didn't want her thinking poorly of you and because I thought it would be better for all three of us, and then I hear from her you barely talk to her or see her. Not to mention you threatened to never let her see me, and I haven't gotten to see her anyway, so something needs to change," he accused.

"It's hard you know," she said, poking her finger into the center of his chest, and causing him to wince. "Taking care of her alone."

"She says you go out with John all the time," he said in a low angry voice. "I don't know why I thought leaving her with you was a good idea. You didn't care about those girls at Sandbrook, you didn't care about me, and you didn't care about Lexi."

She slapped him hard across the face and he recoiled back a few steps and held his aching jaw.

"I want my daughter back," she said lowly. "You can't keep her from me. I've got all the paperwork to have you arrested for this, child abduction. You think you've got a nice job up here, well it'll be all gone like that—" She snapped her fingers. "—and, you won't have anything left, not your job, not you daughter."

Alec lowered his shoulders. He'd been praying that she wouldn't use those lines, but his hope of that was dashed pretty much when he saw her walk through his door.

"Let her get some sleep tonight, and I'll talk to her in the morning," he said, glaring at her. He looked around his house and sighed. "I'll move back to Glasgow, and that should make her feel a bit better about staying."

"I don't want you near her," she grated.

"Well, you didn't take away my right to visit her in all that mess," he pointed out. "I made sure of that, so yes, I'm moving back and she can visit me when she likes. I'll get a lawyer and see if I can't get custody."

He hated the way that word sound, 'custody.' It acted like Lexi was some prize to be one or a commodity to be bought.

"I can't wait to take her home until morning," she said.

"Sure you can," he said, waving his hand flippantly. "You love her, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"Then wait until she's had a good night's rest and cooled off a bit," he said taking a few more steps back and pointing in the vague direction of the spare bedroom. "You can take the spare bedroom, make yourself comfortable or whatever."

She looked at him oddly for a few moments and turned on her heel. When he heard the door close, he made his way to the door and stepped out, locking it behind him just in case. He shoved his hands deeply into his pockets and walked down the street, not really knowing where he was going, but relishing the feel of the misty air and wind surrounding him.

He was exhausted, he needed to be in bed, and the world was crumbling at his feet. Why couldn't anything ever just be simple?

"Alec," he turned when he heard Ellie's voice calling his name. He was just getting used to her calling him that, but after he no longer felt comfortable calling her Miller, he didn't think he had a choice. She had kept her surname Miller after the divorce for her boy's sake, didn't want them having a different name from their mother. However, it still felt wrong.

He raised a hand at Ellie and started walking towards her.

"You should be in bed," she said, once he was close enough to hear.

"My ex-wife decided to drop by, and demand my daughter go back with her," Alec said, sitting down on her steps next to her. "She's asleep in the spare room, and Lexi is in mine. I just needed some air."

"You could crash here if you want," Ellie offered, poking him in the shoulder and smiling.

Alec shook his head. "No, I need to get back."

Ellie waited for him to get up and leave, but he didn't move. He sniffing and looking away from her, she realized that he was crying and reached out to hug him tightly. It was never something that she would have expected to be doing. He rubbed his back soothingly

"I'm moving back to Glasgow," he mumbled pulling back from her and scrubbing away the last of his tears and contorting his face into his usual scowl. "I need to be close to Lexi right now."

"Just do whatever you feel is right," she encouraged him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm putting your name in the pot, with extreme recommendation, to take my job full on now that I'm going," he blurted.

"I don't want your job," Ellie said.

"You wanted it before I came here."

"I don't want it now," she insisted. "I've seen the work you do, the way you work with the families, the way you solved the case when I couldn't…"

"Don't sell yourself short, Ellie," Alec said, and without thinking he took her hand. "You're just as brilliant as I am, and sometimes it's hard to see something that's right in front of you because it hurts too much, but that doesn't mean you aren't up for it."

"You're coming back to Broadchurch though," she said, squeezing his hand, and for the first time since Joe she let herself imagine being with another man. "This town's finally started liking you."

"I've started liking it."

"I'll extend my amount of time in your space, but I'm not going to replace you," she said. "At least not until its certain that you won't be coming back."

She looked down at their hands still clasped together, and Alec seemed to notice and started to draw away, but she stopped him with a gently tug.

"Ellie, I…" He closed his eyes and leaned forwards. Their lips met in a kiss that was too timid, yet at the same time too forceful. It was as if he was a kid on the school ground again and he was just dared to kiss the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Only to find out somewhere in the middle of the kiss that she might actually fancy him too.

She drew back and stared at him, with a mixture of confusion and attraction. "Alec, that was…"

"I'm really sorry, Ellie," he stumbled over his words. "I didn't…"

"If you say you didn't mean it," she started, gripping his hand and smiling. "You'll break my heart."

Alec shuffled awkwardly. He hated situations like this. He needed to be frank with people, to tell them how it was, but when it came to love and romance one never really knew. Matters of the heart were never his forte, and lately they seemed to be carried out in a completely different language.

"I'll miss you," Alec said, rubbing the back of his neck and getting to his feet. "See you, Ellie."

"You're not gone yet," she said, catching his arm. "I'll see you off tomorrow."

"I don't think that'll be such a good idea," he said, taking another couple steps back. "See you around."


	3. Chapter 3

Alec walked back into his house to the sound of crying. At first, he thought it was Sarah, but as he walked past the door to the spare bedroom, he noticed that light from the lamp in his room was still pouring out from under the door and disappearing into the dim light of the hallway. His heart clenched painfully and he swallowed hard. What horrible things had he done to be punished through his daughter? Ever since she was a child all he had ever wanted to do was protect her from everything that was wrong in the world.

Carefully, he approached the door and tapped lightly on it, only to see that it was already slightly ajar. He pushed his way through and closed the door behind him, to find Lexi whimpering under the sheets and tears dripping onto her pillow. She didn't even notice Alec's presence at first, but when he sat on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on her shoulder; she turned to him.

Her eyes were red and swollen, so she turned away almost immediately once she realized it was him. However, he tugged her back towards him and moved from his place on the edge of the bed so that he sat next to her with her holding onto him. She pressed her face into his side and sniveled. Gently, he looped his fingers over her shoulder and pulled her closer so he could press a kiss into her forehead.

"Spill," he said seriously.

It took her a moment to collect herself, and Alec waited patiently. Rocking the two of them back and forth like he did since she was born, he hummed and shushed soothingly until she uncurled herself and looked into his eyes, her brown eyes flowed with pain and he wished there was something he could do just to absorb it into himself.

"When you told Mum that I never lied to you before," she said slowly, sniffing away her tears and looking up at him apologetically. "You really believe that, right?"

He didn't know that she'd been listening when he told her to leave, but brushed it off and nodded. "Of course I believe it," he told her earnestly, his eyes filling with concern; while he turned to face her full on.

"If I told you something that Mum said wasn't true would you believe me?" she asked, and he saw genuine fear in her eyes, as she sat up straighter and tugged at the straps of her tank top and chewed at her lip thoughtfully.

"Depends," replied Alec, wearily. "But, you can tell me anything."

"When Mum said that John never hurt me," Lexi trailed off, not looking Alec in the eye as his breathing hitched and the pit of his stomach clenched tightly.

"Lexi tell me you never let him touch you," Alec all but pleaded, looking at her hard and shaking his head from side to side. "Tell me he didn't lay a hand on you."

She nodded whimpering and slowly tugged down her shirt slightly to expose a darkened bruise just under her arm, and then pulled the other side down to reveal another mirrored bruise.

Physical pain cut deep within Alec's core, and he fought back the need to let tears fall down his face. The father part of him and the police part of him warred within him, each screaming for dominance. Detective Inspector Hardy wanted all the facts, wanted justice and wanted knowledge. Alec Hardy the father was just becoming consumed with black, boiling anger that was quickly hindering his better judgment. He wanted to propel himself to Glasgow now and wring the life out of John.

"I didn't lie when I told you about finding out about the article, and Mum and John getting married or whatever. But, while she was out and John was home…" she paused and looked up at Alec fearfully. He looked down at his clenched fists and forced himself to relax for Lexi's sake. Gently, he pressed a kissed into the top of her head.

"It's alright," he said. "Take your time."

Lexi wiped her eyes one more time and turned to Alec. "He had been drinking, and he was angry. I was in my room trying to call you, and he came in. He got angrier, and he grabbed me and shook me, and told me never to call you. He said it was disrespecting him, after you abandoned me."

Lexi broke down in tears and grabbed on tightly to Alec hugging him tightly, not noticing how stiff he had gone for a few moments when she opened her eyes and saw his hands sitting at his sides, not embracing her back. "Dad?"

"Darling," he said slowly, getting to his feet and holding his chest as his stiches pulled. "I need to get a few pictures, okay?"

She shook her head vigorously.

"No, I don't-"

"It'll help me keep you," he told her. 'It'll help to lock up that sorry soul for a very long time.' He thought to himself.

She hung her head low and pushed her straps back down, carefully concealing the rest of her as Alec slid his phone from his pocket and struggled with the buttons for a moment before managing to pull up the camera and point it at his daughter. It was obvious to both of them that his hands were shaking from barely contained anger. Lexi reached forward and touched his hands gently to steady them, but Alec didn't notice the act and simply continued with his work, forcing the cool detachment of Detective Inspector Hardy to take over the raging father in him for a few more moments so he could get the task completed.

Once he finished, he gently reached over and hugged Lexi tightly. "Alright," he whispered. "Now to bed, alright? You and I both need some rest."

He smiled at his daughter before turning the lamp off and wishing her sweet dreams, while she wrapped herself up tightly in the covers and pulled them almost over her head. His hand touched the door knob lightly before Lexi called out his name. Whipping back around, he watched her in the darkness, while she hesitated in speaking again.

"Could you…" She stopped. "Would you mind staying here?"

Alec hesitated for a moment. He knew better than to smother her, and he'd been warned once about getting too soppy with her. He rocked back and forth on his heels for a few more seconds before approaching the bed and sat down next to her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. Even though she was turned away from him, he could hear the tone of her voice was strangled by the invisible hand of tears and he gently rested his hand on his shoulders. When she was first born, and he and Sarah spent sleepless nights he could have sworn that those would have been the hardest days of raising her, but something always seemed to throw a wrench in that assumption. There had been the terrible twos, the even more terrible threes, then school yard bullies, and boys. The times when he couldn't tell if she loathed him or loved him more.

"I just want you to stay," she said. "It's not fair that you're the only one not getting a bed. You're hurting and need rest."

For the first time, Alec allowed himself to focus completely on what he was feeling right at that moment. The bandages on his chest were pulling at his skin in all the wrong directions, his chest hurt, his head was banging with pain and he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Fair point," he teased and settled down on the bed, making sure to leave plenty of room of Lexi and closed his eyes. Sleep came quickly and mercifully, but not before he heard his daughter wish him better, feel her gently kiss his forehead and slip out. He would have gotten out of bed and beckoned her back, but he was already too far asleep, drifting off to the point that he wasn't sure if he had dreamt the experience or not.

~/~

Lexi woke early the next morning on her father's couch with an afghan covering her. She rubbed her tired eyes and walked into the kitchen it was nearly six o'clock which wasn't terribly unusual for her. She hadn't been sleeping much lately and covered the lack of desire to sleep by going for runs early in the morning. Her mother had never suspected anything the wiser, and Lexi could always claim she was staying in shape during the football offseason.

Opening one of the cabinets, she grabbed a glass and placed it on the kitchen table before peering into the refrigerator. It was a far cry from what the fridge at home looked like, laden with snacks different juices and milk. It looked as if her father was living on a strict need based diet with only bread, assorted vegetables and fruits. The only thing remotely unhealthy in the entire space was a six pack of un-opened beer that looked like it hadn't been touched. It wasn't even the brand that he liked, which led her to assume it was a well meant house warming gift that her father couldn't enjoy.

Eventually, she settled on the milk that was sitting in the back, the expiration date hadn't passed yet, so she assumed it was consumable and poured it into her glass half way up. She let the cool, liquid slide slowly down her throat and set the glass back down on the counter. It was childish of her, but she was trying her best not to make a sound. Waking her mother would mean leaving earlier and she wanted as much time away from Glasgow as possible.

She settled down at the table in the center of the kitchen, crossed her arms and lowered her face into the hollow they created. There wasn't enough time left, she thought to herself as she cursed herself for believing the lies her parents told her. The anger towards her father was still there, but the anger directed at her mother was quickly consuming it. Her dad was always one to try and protect her, and she should have expected as much. He had victimized himself so her mother wouldn't receive the blame, and she had gone along with it.

There was no excuse for her mother letting her dad take the blame. She had cheated on him. She had lost the evidence. She made the case for those little girls fall through.

Lexi sat like that for a long time before the sound of feet approaching caught her attention and she snapped up, ready to refute her mother's desires to head back immediately. However, she relaxed when she saw her father looking back at her. If it was possible to look worse than when he went to bed, he had sure accomplished it.

His eyes were sunken in, his hair was unruly, and his mouth turned down stubbornly at the corners after it offered her a wan smile. He had slid into one of his suits, like he had always worn, but it wasn't pressed and crisp like she remembered it being when he wore it before. It was as if he was a kid playing dress-up with a grown-up's clothes.

"Morning, Darling," he said resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before moving to the electric kettle and readying it to boil. "You didn't have to leave last night," he said.

"I'm fine."

Could he not see himself? He looked dead on his feet. Why didn't he take care of himself? This was why he let her stay with her mother; because, no matter what he always saw himself as inferior to those around him. He walked around with this false persona of confidence, but it was really just well-played arrogance that lasted long enough for people to get on his bad side and not care how he really felt. It had worked.

"You sure? I know I don't have much food or anything at all, but—"

"It's fine, Dad," she assures him leaning lifting her milk and waving at it with her opposite hand. "I don't eat breakfast anyway."

She watched as her father frowned deeply and she realized that she had taken a misstep.

"You used to," he said, worry showing in his eyes, as he sat across from her and frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Course I am," Lexi replied slowly. "I was an emotional wreck last night, but I'm fine now. I'm sorry, by the way for everything. I never meant to throw all of that on you at once, or—" _At all really. _

She bit her tongue to stop herself, from speaking and lowered her head down slightly. "Anyways, I just."

"Don't apologize, Darling," he said slowly. "You already made it abundantly clear why you had to do this."

They sat in silence for a few moments; before they heard Lexi's mother coming down the hallway and her dad quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go get showered and dressed."

There was an edge to his voice that made Lexi want to shrink away slightly, but she hugged him around his middle anyway, feeling his hand go to the back of her head for a moment.

"I love you, Daddy," she mumbled into his chest.

"I love you too," he said, before pulling back. "Now, go on."

She nodded, avoiding eye contact with her mother as she walked into her dad's room where she left her bag. She still had one clean outfit left, and she supposed that there wasn't a need to buy anything while she was here anymore, like she had planned. Picking up the bag from the floor, she stepped in the bathroom and leaned against the wall for a moment, peering at her reflection in the mirror. The bruises on her arms were still there, but they were fading, that was good.

As much as she hated that it happened at all, she was glad that there wouldn't be a permanent mark of what John had done to her.

He loved her mother though, right? He treated her like he was her queen, not like Dad did. Dad had always been slightly distant when it came to romantic gestures. He swore that there was a time when he was a real Romeo, but Lexi didn't believe him.

John on the other hand was brawny and muscular. It was easy to see why her mother fell for him. She loved him and now Lexi was getting in the way.

Lexi was always getting in the way. She remembered arguments her parents had when she was younger. Her mother became more distant from her father after he refused repeatedly to admit that there was no longer a spark between the two of them. They argued about work taking over his life, and if it wasn't work it was Lexi and if it wasn't those two things it wasn't worth paying attention to.

After a few more moments, she realized that she was no longer staring off into space, but instead down at her feet, and when she raised her head she saw the tears streaming down her face and leaving tracks down her face.

~/~

Ellie was lifting her son, Fred, into his booster seat while Tom climbed into the passenger seat. Summer was hard on her at the moment. Joe used to look after the kids while she was at work, now she was entrusting them with her sister for as long as she stayed settled down in town. There wasn't much of anything that she could do about, so she pressed on.

"Mum?" Tom asked, turning around in his seat and peering at her while she fastened the buckles around Fred securely and pressed a kiss into his forehead lovingly. "Can we stay with Alec today?"

"Not today, Tom," she said, staring down the road for a moment. She could see Alec holding his daughter's hand as a woman, she assumed to be his ex-wife , walked beside him From this distance, Ellie could tell that she was taller, more gorgeous and thinner than she was. It was never like her to become jealous at another woman simply on looks, but from what Alec had said, she had everything else as well. A new fiancé and Lexi. She couldn't help, but feel like the worst people got the most.

Then again, as a DS she knew that wasn't really true. She'd seen people's lives fall apart from the decisions that they made, but surely there wasn't anything that could be done about Alec's wife. She hadn't really broken the law, and despite suffering a dent in her reputation, she doubted that there was much flashback from the news article being released.

"Why not?"

"Mr. Hardy's has to deal with some other things right now," she told him, getting into the front seat and taking the time to adjust her mirrors despite the task not being necessary. She was the only one that ever drove her car anymore. "We might not see him for a while."

"Are we going to get to say goodbye?"

"I don't know, Tom," she said watching as Alec leaned over and hugged his daughter. "He's going through a lot lately."

"He had his surgery yesterday," Tom pointed out peering over the dashboard and to Alec's house. "I wanted to make sure he was okay."

Tom had taken well to Alec after everything with his father. It wasn't like Alec had tried hard to replace him either. He was just able to answer Tom's questions when Ellie couldn't think straight about it. He was brilliant with Fred as well, oddly enough. She had never really seen the hardnosed Detective Inspector more relaxed and gentle than in the times he spent with her youngest son. He had grinned like she had never seen before when he picked him up or played with him.

"I know, Sweetheart," Ellie replied, looking over at Tom and putting a hand on his knee. She watched as Alec drew back from his daughter and squeezed her shoulders with his hands. She imagined that he was telling her that he loved her more than anything, and that he would be there for her now. Alec leaned over and hugged his daughter one more time before she climbed into the car and her mother shut the door.

The dark black car drove away quickly, while Alec lifted his hand in farewell before turning away. Ellie watched him move his hand to his eyes to wipe away tears she knew must be there. Forcing a smile, she placed a hand on Tom's shoulder. "I think we can spare a few minutes."


End file.
